Indicator



April '7,' 1925. 1,532,740

` T. T. FERREE INDICATOR Filed Dec. 26, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 7, 1925;

T- T. FERREE INDICATOR Filed Deo. 26, 1923 2 sheets-sheet 2 Nw .nw NN kN mw NN .En f\ N .Il @N SN .erster Prices.

NDCATOR.

Appncaiion mea -member 2e, 1923. serial No. 682,751.

T all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, Tlson Tiinnnnus Fiannnn, 'a citizen of the United States, i siding atshboro, in the county of Randolph and State of lorth Carolina, have invented a new and useful Indicator, of whichl the fol lowing is a specification.

This inventionrelates to i signed primarily for signin. g ersons outside of abnilding, the amount of merchandise to be delivered, it being possible to change the indicator by manipulating operating means located within the building ou which the indicator' is located.

The invention is adapted espe ially for use in indicating the amount of ice to be delivered Vto a building and has comblned with it means whereby a person within t n building can readilydetermine by glancir-.gA

at the adjacent portion Aof the apparatus, exactly what information is displayed by tha portion of the apparatus located outside o the building.

fr further object is to pr vide simple and efficient means for actuating the indicator and for maintaining it in any position to which it may be moved.

l/Vith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combi- -nation and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter' described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope that is claimed Vwithrnit departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

Figure 1 is a section through portion of a building showing the apparatus applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the exterior portion of the apparatus, a part f the housing being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4l is a section on line 4 i, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of 'the operating portion of the indicator.

Fig. 6 is a view partly in plan and partly in section of the structure shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the figures by charactersr of reference, 1 designates a substantially circular housing having attacliingjnieans, such as ears 2, whereby it can be connected readily to the outer wall of a residence, or other structure indicated at S. Mounted within the housing 1 is cross strip 3 and mounted for rotation in this cross strip and in the front of the housing is a shaft e to which is secu-red a grooved wheel 5. A disk 6 is also secured to and rotates with the shaft and is supported 'close to the front wall of the housing A1. r1 segn'iental opening 7 is formed in this front wall so that the disk 6 is exposed therethrough. The front face of the disk is divided by radial lines 8 into segmental portions and-on each segmental portion is printed or otherwise displayed suitable data for the information of a dealer. For example, one space may contain the data lee meaning ten pounds of ice. 'The next space can contain the data ice meaning twenty-five pounds of ice. Thus the data in all the spaces will differ and one of the spaces, which is normally exposed through the opening l is left blank as shown. A spring 9 is mounted on the shaft and one end thereof is secured to the' shaft while the other end is secured to the strip 3; This spring serves to hold thedisk normally in one extreme position with the blak space thereof exposed in the opening T. A projection 10 is provided on the housing and is normally engaged by a lug 11 on the disk so as to hold it in said extreme position.

Strip 3 has a guide ear 12 extending therefrom and movable within this ear is an operating wire or cord 13, one end portion of which is wrapped about the wheel 5 and secured thereto. This flexible operating element 13 engages suitably disposed guide pulleys 14 and is attached at a point within the structure S to one end of a rack bar 15 slidable within guides 16 that are secured to a plate 17. This plate is adapted to be fastened to a wall or the like within the structure S as shown in Fig. 1 and journaled Within the plate 17 and within a cross strip 18 fastened to the end portions of the plate is a shaft 19 on which is secured a gear 20. This gear meshes with a rack 15 and by means of a Vdetachable crank 21 the gear 19 and gear 20 can be rotated so as to move the rack 15 upwardly or longitudinally so as to pull on the connection 13. Gear 2O is held normally against rotation by a locking lever 22 and a spring 2st engages this Aleve-r and'serves to hold' it normally in contact with one of the teeth ofv the gear to prevent rotation thereof. A releasing handle 23 is ria connected to the lever and is normally supported above the plate 17 as shown in Fig. 5.

A graduated strip 24 is extended from the plate 17 and a pointer or index 25 projects from the rack 15 and is designed to cooperate with the graduations 26 on the strip 24C to indicate to the user or the apparatus Which item is displayed Withinthe opening 7 of housing 1.

Under normal conditions the pointer 25 is located at the 7 graduation on the strip 24 and the blank space on disk 6 is displayed through the opening 7.

When it is desired to display, for example, the item lee 75, meaning seventy-tive pounds ot' ice, the user of the apparatus rotates gear 2O so as to bring the pointer 25 to the graduation 26 indicated by the numeral 75. Connection 13 Will thus rotate the Wheel 5 against the action of spring 9 until the item lee 7 5 is displayed Within the opening 7. Lever 22 Will hold the rack against return movement. After the ice has been delivered the user can disengage lever 22 ronithe gear 2O whereupon the spring 9 will reset all or the parts.

While this apparatus is designed primarily for use in neti'lfying ice dealers as to the amount of ice desired, it can obviously be used for other purposes.

that is claimed is 1. In apparatus o the class described the combination With a rotatable indicator and flexible means connected thereto for actuating the same, of a rack attached to said flexible means, yielding means for holding the indicator and the rack normally 1n ene position, a graduated member adjacent the rack, means on the rack and cooperatingcombination with a' Wall plate having a graduated strip constituting an extension there-oi, of a rack shdably mounted on the plate, means carried by the rack and readable 'in connection with the graduations for indicating positions of an operated element, an indicator yieldingly held against movement, a flexible connection between the indicator' and the rack, a gear meshing with the rack and journaled in the plate, means for rotating the gear, means for engaging the gear for holding said gear and the rack against movement, and a releasing handle connected to said means and supported beyond the plate. Y

ln testimony that l claim the foregoing as my own, l have hereto alixed my signature in the presence ol" two Witnesses.

TYSN THADDEUS FEBBRE.

l/Vitnesses C. E. BULLA,

W. C. HENDRIGKS. 

